Wrong Time
by gategirl7
Summary: Rose runs into the man who started it all. Set in an AU where Rose is back in her original universe (again!) and meets the First Doctor.


Rose stared at the painting of Revktow in confusion. There was something not right about the nature scene depicted on the canvas. She frowned and stepped back, tilting her head, as if that would resolve the problem. She had been there with the Doctor and the painting did not match her memory of the planet. The din of the crowded gallery and hum of engines were minor nuisances as she tried to reconcile her memory to what she was seeing. The bluish silver grass seemed right, and the gently rolling hills overlooking a body of water fit into her mental picture of the planet. So what was it?

Rose snorted to herself. Maybe she was just remembering wrong. After all, it had been years ago and apparently her memory wasn't that great. Otherwise she wouldn't have been so stunned when the Time Lord dumped her back in Pete's world a second time. Her memory of their connection was obviously flawed. And she clearly didn't remember that the Doctor had told her he wouldn't leave her behind. Right?

Rose sighed and stared through the painting. Of late, it was easier and easier to descend into bitter thoughts of the Doctor, the pain of being left behind so deliberately eating at her heart. So what the hell was she doing here? Jumping around her original universe, tracking the Doctor down, as if she expected a different outcome than the last two times? Maybe she had started to go insane from her constant time travelling.

This jump had landed her on some sort of space station art gallery and Rose had started to circulate around the area for lack of anything better to do while her vortex manipulator charged back up. It was a nice change of pace, but a bit boring as she dodged snooty art admirers and tried not to openly gape at some truly ugly sculpture.

"Did the painting do you a disservice?" the question came from beside Rose, where she was standing in front of the Revktow scene.

"What?!" Rose turned to look beside her at the person who had spoken, jolted back to the present. The buzz of conversation from the art aficionados moving around the room filtered back into Rose's awareness as the man spoke again.

"Well, my dear, you have been glaring at that picture like it has done you wrong for almost ten minutes now. I thought I would see how it has offended you before you get thrown out of the gallery for not appreciating the art."

The speaker was an older man who looked human, with white, smoothed back hair. He was wearing a suit and had a wrinkled face. He looked rather stern, but his brown eyes were kind and twinkled a bit, inviting Rose to share in his humor. He appeared to be alone, joining her in the small space before the painting as the crowd flowed around them.

"Well, it's…hold on. Can they do that? Kick me out for not 'appreciating' the art?" she asked, sidetracked by his comment.

The man chuckled a bit and nodded. "Indeed they can, my dear. Very strict rules for art appreciation on this station."

Rose squinted at him, trying to decide if he was being serious. The gallery did seem like a fancy place, what with the snazzily dressed people and some sort of champagne-like drink being passed around on trays carried by robot waiters. Rose had felt out of place the moment her manipulator had dropped her here.

With a shrug, she decided to take the stranger at his word and put a small smile on her face. No need to make a scene before her manipulator was charged up and she could jump away again. After all, it was hardly the strangest custom she had encountered in her travels.

The man smiled back at her, inclining his head, as if approving of her actions.

"Now that we are safe, will you tell me about the painting?"

"Oh, right," Rose remembered his first question. She hesitated, not sure how to explain it. "It's just that…it's wrong!" she burst out.

"Wrong?"

"Yes. See, I've been here before, to Revktow I mean, and it doesn't look like this." Rose stared again, trying to remember, "…it's the moons! There's supposed to be three of them."

Rose nodded in satisfaction, happy that she had finally pinpointed the problem. Now she could remember having a moonlit picnic with the Doctor, the three moons giving off plenty of light for them to see by. The moons' light had glinted off the grass, turning the whole landscape shimmering silver and leaving Rose enchanted. That was back with her first Doctor, all gruffness and leather, trying to impress her and keep her at arm's length at the same time. He had softened in the moonlight, sharing stories of humorous past adventures and making Rose laugh nonstop.

"I don't think so," the man began, interrupting her recollection. "In fact, I can assure you that Revktow only has two moons right now."

Rose began shaking her head, denying his statement. "No, see, I've been there, yeah? I was there at night and I clearly remember being surprised by three moons. It was so bright because they were all full." She paused and considered the man's statement.

"Hold on, did you just say 'right now'?"

She turned to look at her companion to see him inclining his head again. He tucked his hands around the lapels of his suit jacket and rocked back on his heels.

"You see, dear girl, Revktow did have three moons. Four thousand cycles ago. One of the moons was in an unsteady, elliptical orbit around the planet and eventually drifted far enough away from the planet that it became a rogue planetoid zooming around the system," he lectured, an emphatic nod accompanying his last few words. "In fact, that moon was responsible for a little bit of a…revolution…shall we say, on Revktow as its orbit decayed. The locals became fearful when the moon didn't rise regularly anymore like the others and began to believe their deities were upset with them…"

Rose stared at him in bemusement as he rambled on. She had the strongest urge to push him backwards, wanting to see if he could keep his balance when he was caught up in feeling proud of himself. Just like her Doctor, eager to share his vast knowledge of the universe with her and determined to impress her. The thought caught her suddenly and she sucked in a breath. Rose could almost see her Doctor imposed over the stranger, hair bobbing as he nodded and rocking back and forth with arms waving as he excitedly babbled while she tried to follow his train of thought.

Oh, how she missed him! Rose turned quickly back to study the painting again as she felt the sting of tears. Sometimes she felt hopeless about this quest of hers. How could she ever hope to find the Doctor - her Doctor - in all of time and space? The task seemed impossible some days.

Oh, who was she kidding? Most days, in fact.

"…am I correct?" The man's voice filtered through her thoughts.

"Huh?" Rose turned and questioned him, shoving her despair back down and blinking rapidly to clear her eyes of the traitorous tears.

The man gave her a disappointed look, as a teacher would give a student. 'You weren't listening to a word I said, were you?', it seemed to say.

Rose grimaced and shook her head. "Sorry about that, got lost for a mo'. What were you saying?"

"I was _saying_ , you are a time traveler, are you not?"

Rose stared at him, not sure what to say. What was the protocol for these conversations?

When she didn't give a response, the man sighed and said, "It's fairly obvious, girl. Your clothes and accent make you stand out. Earth, twenty first century? And your conclusion about the painting clinched it. You were on Revktow at a time when there were three moons, which is not the case any longer. Hence, time traveler."

Rose stared, blank faced, for another minute. With a sigh she gave in, "Yes, you're right. I've done some traveling." She kept it vague, not willing to give more detail to a person she met ten minutes ago.

The man nodded, as if pleased he had reached the right conclusion. "Well then, what time were you aiming for?"

"What?" Rose again stared at him in confusion.

Her companion made a gesture that seemed to indicate her whole body. "You are clearly not dressed for this gallery, you don't seem to know anyone, and you didn't know the rules. Therefore, wrong place or wrong time?"

With a bitter smile, Rose echoed, "Wrong time." She sighed. "Always the wrong time."

Her comment made the man's face soften into some sort of concern and Rose suddenly needed to get away from this conversation and this man who was too damned perceptive before she ended up sobbing on the floor over an alien who had dumped her with so much finality he put an entire universe between them.

"I've got to use the loo," she stated abruptly, before turning on her heel and rushing away before her companion had a chance to respond. She was walking blind since she actually had no idea where the Ladies was. She dodged around people, aliens, and robot waiters, looking for a hiding spot. Rose spotted a side hallway and quickly turned, giving a sigh of relief at being out of the crowd and away from that man. The hallway turned out to be a short corridor with what looked like a service exit at the end of it. No one would bother her here.

In the quiet of the sanctuary she had found, Rose heard a soft beep. She glanced at her manipulator and grinned in relief. Recharged! Now she could get out of here soon and refocus on finding the Doctor instead of talking with a man who constantly reminded her of the Time Lord. She quickly set the manipulator for her next jump and leaned into the wall. Ten more minutes before the manipulator would activate.

Rose dropped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Who was that man? And why did he remind her so much of the Doctor? Was she going crazy, doomed to see the Doctor in strangers across time and space and never find the real Time Lord? A single tear slipped past her closed eyelids, tracing its way down her cheek.

Rose thought about her quest. Maybe she needed a break – a chance to breathe and sleep, and maybe eat some decent food for once. The constant drain of jumping through time and space with her manipulator was hell on her body and Rose had not lost her knack for discovering trouble. It seemed almost every jump she landed in some sort of disaster and Rose was tired of it. Another tear escaped and Rose slumped against the wall.

"Are you alright?" Rose heard a soft voice come from close by. She startled, not expecting another person to enter her little alcove. For a terrible few seconds she thought it was that man again, back to unknowingly torture her some more. Then she realized the person who had spoken sounded female and her voice was much quieter than the confident baritone of the older man.

Rose opened her eyes to see a petite woman with short brown hair standing against the opposite wall of the hallway, looking concerned. The girl was dressed like she belonged in 1963 and her features were pixie-like, making her look young and fragile. Why had she followed Rose into the hallway? And how long did Rose have to get her to leave before she jumped?

Rose's train of thought was stalled as the woman spoke again.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," Rose answered, distracted by thinking about getting away from the girl before her manipulator activated and she disappeared into thin air, likely scaring the crap out of the other woman.

"But you're crying. Most people don't cry if they're fine," the girl continued to press, seeming to be genuinely concerned. "Are you hurt? I can get some help from my grandfather."

Rose quickly broke in, not wanting even more witnesses to get away from. "No, I'm not hurt. You don't need to get anyone. In fact, just give me a mo' and I'll be good as new."

Rose sent a quick smile at the girl and hurriedly brushed her cheeks clear of tears. "See, just fine. You can head back to your family now." Rose mentally pleaded with the other woman to just leave.

The girl sent a glance over her shoulder, into the crowded gallery, before turning back to Rose with a stubborn look on her face. "My name's Susan," she stated and stepped closer to Rose. "We're really quite good at solving problems, my grandfather and I. He's a little gruff, but he's very kind and very smart. There's no need to be worried."

Rose stared down at the girl, Susan apparently, in bemusement. Who was this girl? Why was she so determined to help a perfect stranger hiding in a hallway? Rose gave a small smile. Susan reminded her of herself back when she first started traveling with the Doctor, always wanting to help some poor lost soul. With those memories in the forefront of her mind, Rose smiled more genuinely at Susan.

"Look, thanks for the offer, but I don't think it's something you or your grandfather can help me with." Rose saw Susan open her mouth and added, "No matter how kind and smart he is."

Susan paused for a moment, appearing to be unsure of what else to say to Rose to persuade her that she could help the older woman. She looked so lost, Rose caved a bit more.

"It's just that I'm in the wrong place and I'm not sure how to meet back up with my…friend. I'm just upset I missed him, is all." Rose watched as Susan took in that information and sneaked a quick glance at her vortex manipulator. Three minutes.

"Well, maybe we can give you a ride somewhere."

Rose sighed and looked back at Susan. She appreciated Susan's attempts to help, but it was time to get her out of here so Rose could disappear without causing a scene.

"Look, Susan. I appreciate the offer, but you can't help me, ok. I'm not only in the wrong place; I'm in the wrong time. So you and your grandfather can't give me a ride somewhere, because I need to be some _when_ , not where. Just leave me alone and go back to your family."

Rose turned away from Susan and waited to hear the girl walk away, certain that she had been blunt enough to send her running.

"Oh, but that's perfect! You see, Grandfather's ship can travel through time as well."

Rose whipped her head back around to stare at Susan. The shorter woman was beaming at Rose, a wide smile lighting her face.

"What did you say?"

Rose's voice was choked as she was hit with an echo of the Doctor offering her all of time and space in an alley in London so long ago. _By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?_

"Well, it's not something I'm supposed to tell people really, but you're a time traveler too, so I'm sure it's OK. See, his ship is a TARDIS, it travels in time and space. Just what you need! Wait here; I'll go get him, alright?" With that, Susan quickly ducked out of the alcove and was lost in the crowd.

Rose stared after her, frozen in place. She was not really seeing the crowd wandering past the hallway opening, still stuck on Susan's use of the word TARDIS. Could it be? Was…was he here? After so long…

Rose broke out of her paralysis and lurched after Susan, hand lifted to try and catch the woman who was no longer there. She had to find her, demand to know how Susan knew about the TARDIS, if she knew the Doctor. How to find him…

As Rose reached the edge of the hall, she was startled by a loud beep. Rose stopped steps away from the main room and looked at her wrist. The manipulator had signaled the two minute warning, alerting Rose it was almost ready to transport her away. She frantically scanned the room, trying to spot the petite girl, torn between calling her back or darting after her. Rose hung back, not wanting to get caught in the crowd and disappear in the middle of the room.

An overheard call of "Grandfather" drew her attention to the left, a dozen meters away. It was the Revktow painting! And there was the girl, Susan. Rose stepped out of the hallway, into the room in an attempt to see who Susan was talking to. Art patrons crowded in her line of sight, a group of them seeming to know each other and looking to settle in for a chat. Rose made an impatient sound as her manipulator beeped again, signaling one minute until jump.

As if some higher power heard Rose's desperation, one of the robot waiters began to push the group to disperse, clearing Rose's view of Susan. As the last gangly man strolled away, Rose finally saw who Susan was talking with. Her breath caught in her throat.

Rose couldn't help it; she let out a loud laugh. Now that was irony! Her laugh turned into a strangled sob, the thought registering that she had spent minutes conversing with the man and had only thought to escape him for reminding her of the Doctor. If only she had known! If only…

The beep from her wrist beginning the 30 second countdown barely registered with Rose as the man raised his eyes to look towards where Susan was gesturing. Almost immediately, he caught her gaze and she saw his eyes widen in surprise. He glanced back down to Susan and said something to her that Rose guessed was him making sure he had found the correct person. A rapid nod from Susan seemed to reassure him and he began moving towards Rose, who remained frozen in the hallway entrance.

Rose locked eyes with the man she now knew was the Doctor, conscious of the tears welling up as he strode across the space separating them. She shook her head, mute. As the last seconds before her jump ticked away, she mustered a smile, sure it was twisted and sad. The Doctor seemed to realize something was going to happen and picked up his pace, now only a dozen feet away.

"Goodbye, Doctor. See you later."

With those parting words, Rose slipped back into the hallway and closed her eyes as she felt the familiar sensation of the vortex manipulator dragging her to a new time and place. _It won't always be the wrong time, Doctor. Just you wait._

* * *

The Doctor dodged around a waiter and strode into the alcove with Susan right behind him. He stopped abruptly, feeling his granddaughter stumble into his back.

"Grandfather?"

Susan moved to stand at his side and joined him in staring at the empty hallway.

"Where did she go?"

The Doctor shook his head, not sure how the girl had disappeared so rapidly. Her last words drifted through his mind: _'See you later'_

He put an arm around Susan's shoulders. "I think, perhaps, my dear, the question is not where, but _when_."


End file.
